Welcome to Little Dog Rescue in Orange County, CA

Little Dog Rescue is primarily a Maltese Rescue, a Poodle Rescue and a Yorkie Rescue ( although we do take other breeds and mixes), located in Orange County, CA. Although we consider ourselves a classic “Mom and Pop” operation, the government classifies us as a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization. We are proudly listed in Guidestar, the national database of non-profit organizations .
We are a retired couple who, after 10 years of raising Guide Dogs for the visually impaired, have decided to rescue small dogs instead. We love dogs and we love to see them enhance a life. Our goals are two-fold. First, we want to save shelter dogs and secondly, we want your life to be improved by matching a wonderful dog to a safe, loving and caring family. No one should have to live without a furry little friend, when there are so many of these little munchkins needing loving homes.

Ten years of bringing in 8 week old puppies and raising them to 16-18 month old sensitive, obedient, intelligent, ready to please and ready to work adolescent dogs, finally became too much of a heartbreak. We’ve decided to do something on a smaller, more personal scale. Oh, and after 10 years of NOT being able to spoil our little friends, plan on having the dog you get from us, being a LITTLE spoiled!!! They so deserve it!

Nowadays, we visit area shelters and rescue small dogs, usually between 3 and 15 pounds. Occasionally, we will also have dogs available that have been relinquished by their owners, for one reason or another.

All of our dogs are given their basic shots, rabies vaccine, flea and tick treatment, worming medication, vet checked, micro chipped, and are spayed/neutered. Also, every little one, when they come home to us, gets their own little fleece blanket that they take home with them to their new forever home. We keep the dog in our home for some TLC and evaluation in regard to its temperament, socialization, and health, in order to make the best possible fit for a prospective adopter.

The dogs you visit on our website are living in our home as loved members of our family. They beg at the table at meals, sleep in our beds, snuggle in our laps while we watch TV, go for rides in the car, chase the mop, and happily celebrate our return home, even after just taking out the garbage!!! We are not a shelter. This is our home and everyone that comes into our home has the run of it. (We have a lot of tile and hard wood!!) No kennels, no cages, just warm comfy couches, chairs and laps.

Forgive us if we seem to be intrusive when applying for a dog. We are extremely picky in choosing homes for our little ones and WICKEDLY protective. Once they become members of our family, we treat them as we would our own children when we're placing them in a new home. Although we don’t have a history on the dog’s past or know how it
got to the shelter, we do have a sense of its character and needs. If you see a little one that you'd like to adopt, please fill out an application. We get quite a lot of email, so please be patient with us, as we do try to get back to each and every person. ( We don't monitor our message machine very well, but we do monitor our email).

If we feel that you would be a good match for one of our little ones, we will phone or email you and make an appointment for you to see the dog. All dogs are shown in our home by appointment. We, generally, do not adopt our little ones to families with children under the age of 11. Thanks for checking with us and we hope you enjoy our web site.- Francois and Susi Cahn

Little Dog Rescue is non-profit 501(c)(3) organization (Non-Profit ID# 03-0462934) and relies solely upon private donations to help fund our rescue operation. All donations are tax deductible. You will receive a tax deductible receipt promptly. And since we are an all volunteer organization, 100% of your donation goes directly to the care and medical costs of our animals.

You can donate online with your credit card by using PayPal. Click here to donate: